Fruit and Vegetable Drinks Do Not Improve Diabetes and Heart Health

Drinking commercially available fruit and
vegetable juices or fruit concentrates are not going benefit symptoms of
metabolic syndrome (risk factor of type-2 diabetes and heart disease),
according to a Yale study.

Fruit and Vegetable Drinks Do Not Improve Diabetes and Heart Health

Fruits and
vegetables are known for their high antioxidant polyphenols and vitamins that
help prevent many heart diseases and insulin- related problems because of their
favorable effects on endothelial function, especially in people with metabolic
syndrome.

Endothelium is a
lining covering the internal surface of blood vessels, heart valves and other
body cavities. It acts a selective barrier between the blood vessel lumen and
the surrounding tissues allowing the necessary materials in and out of the
blood stream and helps maintain vascular homeostasis (internal stability of the
circulatory system). A dysfunction in endothelial activity gives rise to a host
of cardiovascular problems, such as vascular inflammation and
atherosclerosis.

Cost and lack of
access are the main barriers to consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Taking advantage of this fact, supplement companies are flooding the market
with dehydrated fruit and vegetables juice concentrates that claim to have the
same benefits.

Therefore, to
find out if commercially available dehydrated fruit and vegetable juice
concentrates (Juice+) truly benefit consumers with metabolic syndrome, Ather
Ali and colleagues from the Yale University School of Medicine, Connecticut,
U.S. conducted a randomized, double blind, placebo- controlled clinical trial
with three treatment arms:

The study
involved 64 adults with metabolic syndrome (that is, people with waist
circumference of equal to or greater than 94 cm in males and equal to or
greater than 80 cm in females; blood pressure equal to or greater than 130/85;
fasting plasma glucose greater than 100 mg/dL; and high density lipoprotein
(HDL) less than 40 mg/dL in men and less than 50 mg/dL in women.

These
individuals were administered to Blend
1, Blend 2, or placebo for 8 weeks where they had to ingest 3 capsules twice
daily amounting to 4.5g per day. This was followed by an 8-week washout period
with no intervention. By the end of the study all 64 volunteers completed 8
weeks of all the three treatment arms.

The results
showed no significant between-group differences in endothelial function after
eight weeks of daily treatment. There were no other significant treatment
effects as far as glucose, insulin, lipids, and weight was concerned. However,
the intervention had no adverse effects too.

Whole fruits and
vegetables contain significant amounts of dietary fiber that help prevent or
reduce heart disease and improve endothelial function. But the concentrate
capsules used in this trial contained minimal fiber. The researchers, thus,
suggest that - 'It is possible that dietary fiber mediates the beneficial
effects of fruits and vegetables on endothelial function and cardiovascular
risk. Furthermore, fiber in the diet promotes satiety; thus persons adding
fruits and vegetables to their routines may be displacing the consumption of
other foods that promote weight gain and increase cardiac risk. The small
capsules used in this study are unlikely to affect satiety and thus displace
the consumption of atherogenic foods'.

The authors
concluded that encapsulated fruit and vegetable juice powder concentrates did
not alter insulin or glucose measures in this sample of adults with metabolic
syndrome.

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